Heart of Flame
by VinnyRoxyFrankie
Summary: Sometimes things can't always go back to the way they were. Sometimes a horse can't be healed fully. Sometimes, things have to change. Jazz and Flame were champion eventers. Once. Now both are traumatised and Amy has to help them.
1. Prologue

**_Hey guys - this is Aislinn, and this is my new story, Heart of Flame. The summary is below._**

**_This is just the prologue, I'm not sure how long chapters are going to be for this story but definitely longer than the prologue. I may or may not update this regularly as I have an original story on fictionpress which I am working on also. Anyway, please read and review - regarding reviews, I appreciate constructive criticism, not just "Great, update soon." _**

**_I hope you enjoy this story!_**

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**_Heart of Flame _**

**_Summary _**

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Sometimes things can't always go back to the way they were. Sometimes a horse can't be healed fully. Sometimes, things have to change.

**_Jazz and Flame were champion eventers. Once. Now Flame is traumatised, unable to accept the way his owner has changed. Jazz is surly and uncooperative as well._**

**_And Amy has to help them._**

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Heart of Flame – Prologue

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"_Please. Don't." She whispered quietly, but her voice was loud across the chasm that had opened between them. The acrid smell of blood hung in the air, and her hands were wet and sticky where she had touched her back._

_The man stared back at her, so much pain and anger in his face that there was no way it could be measured. He hadn't meant to cause such grief and destruction. But the madness that tinged his eyes had overcome him. _

_The horse stood, in between them. The girl could see that the horse's eyes were wide with fear, fear of the stench and the scene of carnage around them. Though he wanted to flee, he couldn't. Trapped inside a stable, his only way out was to jump. But the man – and the girl – made him freeze, so different from what they were normally like. So scared._

"_Don't." Her voice rang again, thick with tears and horror._

_There was a sudden shot. Then another. Then he tumbled into blackness, disappearing from her sight, as all the others had. A blackness from which they could never return. Only the horse was left._

* * *

She couldn't feel anything. There was nothing but a blur of faces and sound and white in front of her. A kind, older woman, arms open for a hug. Sculpted, high cheekbones of a pretty teenage girl. The cheeky grin of a young boy. The crazed, high whinny of a horse. 

Her eyes snapped open, and she uttered single word. "Flame!"

She couldn't see properly, everything was distorted. _Where am I? What happened? _Kind, soothing voices filled her ears, and the razor-sharp prick of a needle made her senses clear for a moment. Then, everything faded back into the background, and there was nothing but that same sweet darkness and pain.

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The horse's ears were back, eyes weary. Nothing was the same. Everything was different – different faces, voices, sounds. There was only one face he wanted to see, one voice he wanted to hear. His chestnut coat glowed with good health, his body muscled and fit – but his face was full of the dejectedness of a horse that has been abandoned, and his eyes were dull and tired. 

Someone opened the stall door, and his ears pricked for a moment, anticipating, hoping wildly that it was her. But no such luck – a different, male voice crooned his name softly, and a tall boy with blonde hair of about sixteen came in. He placed a saddle gently onto the horse's back, tightening the girth and then coaxing his mouth to accept the bit. This he could handle.

Then the boy led him out of the stable. The horse was wary, as if waiting for something. He jumped as another horse snorted and pawed at the metal of a water trough, startling at the crack of a brush being dropped on the ground.

He tensed, all of him stiff and ready to flee, as the boy shortened his reins and placed his foot in the stirrup. "Easy, Flame, easy ..."

As he swung himself up into the saddle, the horse snorted and swung his quarters around. The boy kept his balance and landed lightly in the saddle, clucking gently to tell the horse to go forward. Legs splayed apart, snatching at the bit, the horse didn't move. The boy squeezed his sides lightly. This, the horse could not handle. This was not right and good and normal. He went crazy.

All four legs left the ground as the horse bucked and snorted, reared and rolled his eyes, fear so openly displayed that all who witnessed the display knew that this was not simply a horse being naughty.

Finally, the horse gave up. Both of them were breathing heavily, the horse's head hanging low, defeated. The boy slid off his back slowly, and once on the ground, wrapped his arms around the horse's neck. He shied away, still nervous.

Tears slid down the boy's face silently as he moved away, giving the horse space. His hands shook on the reins as he spoke softly, defeat in his voice. "They're not coming back, Flame. Not ever."

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Hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE, PLEASE review .. and check out my other story, Summercoast, if you enjoy my writing so far - I can't paste a link here but there is one in my account, or you can just go into the profile of VinnyRoxyFrankie on fictionpress.

Ais


	2. Phone Call

Heart of Flame – Chapter 1

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Walking out of her family's old farmhouse, Amy Fleming rubbed her eyes tiredly. Another day of getting up at five to help Ty around the barn, school for hours, then home again to ride and stay up late with homework was beginning.

The sixteen year old's face brightened as she caught sight of Ty, her boyfriend, already hard at work mucking out stalls in the main barn at Heartland. His chestnut hair flopped over his face, hanging into emerald green eyes which sparkled as he saw Amy, long brown hair sticking up in all directions as normal. Ty wasn't sure how she'd managed to get hold of his favourite plaid shirt, but there it was, baggy and huge over her worn jeans and riding boots.

"Morning," she yawned, brushing hair out of her tired face. Ty smiled sympathetically, curving his arm around her waist. "Late night studying?"

Amy blushed. "Studying, yes, for school ... that could be debated."

Ty laughed softly. "You don't have to help all the horses here, Amy. I've got all day to look up more information if you need me to – just ask."

"Sure, Ty – you've got _all _day, what with all the horses to ride, stables to clean and all the hundred and one other jobs that pop up around here ..." Then his fingers lifted her chin up so her smoky grey eyes met his green ones.

"Let's not argue. Please." She smiled at him, forgetting everything that had to be done that morning, losing herself in Ty's eyes and touch as he gently lifted her chin and her mouth touched his. He kissed her softly, always careful. Breaking away a moment later, Amy sighed. "I'm sorry, Ty. I know it's frustrating, but I really have to get on with this so I can get to school."

His face was disappointed but he nodded understandingly. "Okay. You get started on the stalls in the next row." Amy picked up a pitchfork and started moving away.

"Oh ... in case I don't have time to say goodbye before you leave …" Ty spun her around quickly and kissed her again, before grinning and sauntering off. Amy touched her lips softly. _You don't know just how much I love you, Ty Baldwin._

Shaking her head clear of all sentimental thoughts for the moment, Amy hurried to start cleaning the stalls.

* * *

Waving goodbye to Soraya and Matt, Amy hopped off the bus, feeling considerably more alive than she had that morning after a busy day at school. Planning to get out to the horses as soon as possibly, Amy ran up the drive to the house, into her room, where she got changed quickly and twisted her long hair into a plait.

"Amy!" Lou's voice rang through the house and Amy groaned. _Please don't let this be another discussion about feed bills …_

"Yeah, Lou?" She shouted down the stairs.

"Phone for you! Someone who wants to bring a horse to Heartland!" Amy felt a shiver of excitement as she always did when there was the prospect of a new horse. Luckily they had three stalls empty at the moment. Picking up the phone extension in her room, Amy spoke into it.

"Hello? This is Amy Fleming."

"Oh .. hello, Amy. I'm Lisa Fletcher; I'm a social worker for the state."

_Why on earth is a social worker ringing me about a horse?_

The woman sounded nervous, as if sensing Amy's doubt. "Er .. we have a girl in foster care at the moment. She used to do some sort of riding and has a horse that she won't – well, actually can't – sell. I believe his name is Flame. He's started acting insane, throwing anyone off him who tries to ride him, and he won't even react to the girl's presence. He doesn't seem to recognise her."

This was interesting. Amy hadn't heard of a case like this before.

"We need to sell the horse; no one wants to foster a child with an extra expense like that. But unfortunately no one will buy the damned thing – although that is understandable considering that no one can actually get on it. His owner saw you in some magazine and read about how you can heal horses. She's adamant that he's brought here."

"I'd like to meet this Flame, Ms Fletcher. I don't know if I could do anything with him, but I'd try my best."

The woman's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Well, naturally I don't think you'd be able to do anything with him – he's completely crazy. But the girl is insistent and .. well, it will give you money and us a rest from our headache for a while."

Amy tried not to let her anger seep into her voice. "Don't condemn him, Ms Fletcher, before I've even looked at him. Some horses are just misunderstood and it takes a new person to see what's wrong with them."

"Yes, I'm sure you're right. If there's nothing you can do, we'll probably just have the horse put down, but would you mind taking him on for a while, a month or so at the most?"

Amy gritted her teeth. "That will be fine, Ms Fletcher. Where is the horse at the moment?"

"Er .. Montana. But we can get him trucked down straight away. Oh .. would you mind terribly if the girl came to stay with you as well, just for the duration of the horse's treatment?"

Amy was stunned. _Wow. Just drop something like that in casually at the end of the conversation. Can we cope with a complete stranger living under our roof? _

There was silence on both ends of the phone.

_If we don't take him, he'll die. _She could hear it in the woman's voice, a complete lack of sympathy for the horse or owner. And suddenly, Amy felt a surge of pity for a girl with no family to rely on, and a horse in pain and acting crazily. _How bad can it be? Maybe she can help around Heartland._

Amy spoke decisively, and coldly. "That will be fine, Ms Fletcher. How soon will Flame and his owner arrive?"

"We can arrange to get them there by the day after tomorrow. Great, thankyou for taking them on. We'll see you soon!"

The woman hung up hurriedly, leaving Amy with a dial tone ringing in her ear. _What have I gotten us into?_

* * *

Just A Dancer, otherwise known as Katie, was an open medium dressage horse on the cusp of moving up to Advanced – but her one fear was holding her back.

Katie was terrified of men. Her owner, Rebecca Adams, was a prominent dressage rider and well known all over the US. Katie was one of her younger horses who she'd been bringing up through the levels of dressage. Rebecca didn't know exactly what had happened to the eight year old mare before she'd bought her, but it had left Katie with emotional scars that hadn't presented much of a problem before. Now, wanting to make sure Katie had the very best of training for the higher level movements, Rebecca had enlisted the help of a German trainer called Pieter Schafer. Hoping that Katie had forgotten about any fear of men that she'd had in the past, Rebecca had let Pieter ride the mare at her first session.

Katie had had minimal contact with men in her dressage career, and Pieter riding her had obviously brought back a lot of horrific memories. She'd bucked the man off, and he'd broken several of his ribs and sprained his arm. Thankfully, he hadn't blamed Rebecca – or the horse – but had suggested that she get some help for Katie before trying to progress further. Pieter had understood that Katie was scared, not naughty.

So the mare had arrived at Heartland a few days earlier, and this was Amy's first chance to work with her. She and Ty had decided that Amy would be the first to work with Katie, getting her adjusted to the new surroundings and learning about her personality. Only when she was really settled in and trusting Amy would Ty begin to work with them, and help the mare heal.

Still puzzling over the strange call from Lisa Fletcher, Amy tried to relax when she entered the main barn after mucking out some stalls, and began making her way towards Katie's stall. _How on earth is Lou going to feel about having a strange girl staying with us for a whole _month

Amy's older sister would definitely not be pleased, with all the preparations for her and Scott's wedding to think about as well. _Well, I've already said yes. I couldn't let the horse go – Lou will just have to understand that._

Amy's worries flew out of her head as she saw Katie. The mare had a certain presence about her that only a dressage horse could have – a regal elegance in the way she daintily arched her neck, the curious, intelligent expression in her eyes. Katie was a jet black Hanoverian with a small white star on her forehead, and three white socks. Her near-hind leg was conspicuously black, giving her a slightly lopsided look.

Being from a show jumping family, Amy had never really ridden any dressage horses before. She'd seen Rebecca ride Katie at her barn, and she'd also had the chance to ride a Rebecca's Grand Prix schoolmaster, Regazonni, a few times. Rebecca had wanted Amy to get the feel of riding a highly trained dressage horse so she could keep up what Katie was used to when she was ridden. After riding Zonni in two lessons a week for the last five weeks with Rebecca, Amy was pretty sure she had an understanding of all the Grand Prix movements, but she was going to take it slow with Katie. She wasn't going to ride in their first few sessions, focusing instead on bonding with the mare and joining up.

Katie's ears pricked and her eyes brightened when Amy let herself into the stable. Amy rubbed her face softly and the horse leaned into her, asking for more. "You're just too smart, Katie. You're bored, aren't you?" Amy grabbed the purple rope hanging outside Katie's stable, and clipped it onto her halter. Then, opening the stable door, she led Katie out, the mare prancing excitedly at the end of the lead rope. "Calm down, silly girl ..." Amy spoke gently before clipping Katie into the cross-ties and checking her legs over to make sure she had no swelling there. She was relieved to see there was none, considering the amount of prancing Katie had been doing in her stall. "I think we'll have to let you out into a paddock today ... but will the pretty dressage queen want to get her hooves dirty?"

Unclipping the mare, Amy led Katie down the aisle and into the round pen, then letting her go. Katie stood there for a moment, dumbfounded at her new freedom, before taking off and performing a volley of high bucks and squeals, delighted to be out of the confinement of her stall. Amy chuckled quietly to see the way she was behaving – so different from the perfect dressage horse that obeyed Rebecca's every aid.

When Katie finally lost interest in her performance, Amy used the lead rope and her voice to drive her away, making the mare run and listen to Amy. She wanted Katie to understand that _she _was the herd leader now. Every time Katie showed signs of slowing, Amy flicked the end of the lead rope and she carried on running.

After a few minutes of continuous galloping, Katie was beginning to tire, patches of sweat appearing on her shiny black coat. She began showing signs of submission to Amy, her head lowering and making chewing motions with her jaw. When both of Katie's ears flicked back to listen, Amy knew that she has her.

Stopping all the motion, any noise that she was making, Amy turned her back on Katie. The hoofbeats slowed, until all Amy could hear was a soft padding on sand. Then, she almost laughed, feeling Katie's whiskery muzzle and hot, sweet horse breath on her face. She turned around slowly, rubbing Katie's star the way she had before. "Good girl," she murmured softly.

Then, she turned again and walked away, around the perimeter of the round pen. Katie didn't hesitate, following her "herd leader" immediately and imitating Amy's every move. When the girl began to run, Katie trotted to keep up with her but was careful never to overtake the leader. When Amy ran and hopped over a pole lying at the edge of the arena, Katie's dressage sense kicked in for a moment and she hesitated. Seeing Amy move further away, however, decided her, and she snorted loudly and hopped over the pole, taking care not to let _any _part of her touch it.

After fifteen minutes of this, Amy stopped in the middle of the round pen. Katie walked up to her and halted, her eyes different now – not full of pent up energy, but content and trusting. Amy moved closer and talked to her softly, running her hands over every part of the mare's body, making Katie put up with her. Finally decided she was done for the day, she stroked Katie's neck and clipped the lead rope back on. "Good girl. That was great, sweetie."

"It looked good." Both girl and horse looked up in surprise as Ty spoke from where he was leaning against the rail. Forgetting for a second, Amy tugged on the lead rope gently and began walking towards Ty.

Katie's head was high in the air, her telling her to run from danger. Her eyes were focused completely on Ty, watching every move he made. Amy realised something was wrong and stopped to turn back and look at the mare. "Ty, I don't think ..."

"Shhh ..." he murmured, outstretching his hand. Katie's nostrils widened and she snorted loudly. When Ty took a step towards her, it was too much. She pulled backwards, ripping the rope out of Amy's hand and jumping as she scared herself even more. Katie turned and galloped frantically, finding nowhere to escape as she just ran in circles around the pen. "Katie! Whoa, whoa, girl ..."

Ty looked shocked as he surveyed the frightened mare. "Amy, I think I'd better-"

"Just leave, Ty." Amy snapped, her voice filled with the frustration of having all her bonding work undone. Ty's face turned pale, but he moved quickly and quietly out of sight.

Katie gradually slowed, her sides moving in and out, breathing heavy and laboured. She shook as Amy stepped slowly towards her, fearing even the leader who she's trusted so completely a minute before. "It's okay, Katie ... I won't hurt you."

Her ear's pricked up as she took in Amy's gentle, soothing voice … and realised that maybe this girl wasn't going to hurt her. Amy stood quietly, a few centimetres away from Katie, giving the mare time to adjust to her presence again. Then, when she was no longer shaking, Amy moved to her face and began gently massaging circles, touching Katie with only the tips of her fingers.

It took twenty minutes of t-touch and soothing before Katie let Amy pick up the lead rope, and lead her quietly back to her stall. _I don't think a paddock's the best option at the moment. _Amy worried that the mare would protest at being left in the stable again, but she merely went to the manger and lipped at a mouthful of hay, too tired to stay alert but too wary to sleep. Amy sighed. _Two steps forward … and it sure feels like about four steps back._

As she walked out of the barn, Amy looked at her watch and was surprised by how much time had passed since she'd left the house after talking to Lisa Fletcher. _Three hours! No wonder it's getting dark, it's nearly seven!_

As her eyes adjusted to the gloom outside the barn, Amy made out Ty, leaning against a fence, watching two of the permanent Heartland residents scratch each other. Though Sundance was only a pony, Sugarfoot was still having trouble reaching him – only being a mini!

Ty turned his head when he saw Amy walking towards him. His eyes were full of worry. "I'm sorry, Amy," he began. "I don't know why … it was a stupid thing to do …"

He held out his arms, and Amy moved into them gratefully. She turned so that they were facing the horses, and Ty rested his chin on her head, stoking her hair absent-mindedly with his free arm.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. There was nothing else to say.

Amy sighed. "It's okay, Ty. I know … sometimes we just forget. It happens to all of us. I don't blame you."

She smiled as she felt him kiss the top of her head softly. "I need you to promise me one thing, Ty."

"Anything."

"Help me with Katie. She can only get over her fear of men if she faces one."

"Of course."

Amy moved reluctantly out of his arms. "We should go in for dinner. It's getting late."

Ty agreed, taking her hand. Then they walked together back to the house.

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­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Kinda weird, I know .. I'm hoping that they're in character enough for you guys. Hope you like it! By the way, I don't actually own any of the Heartland books so if I get any of the stuff wrong – eg join up techniques – sorry!

Thanks to all my awesome reviewers, especially Steph! (Akers2)

Ais


	3. First Impressions

**Heart of Flame – Chapter 2**

**FINALLY! A new chapter. I'm so, so sorry about the lack of updates - it was basically me being lazy, too many tests at school, and me needing to sort the plan out. Majorly! It's now all planned out, looks like we're going to have 12 or so chapters but could be more, as my stories tend to drag themselves out a bit .. thanks heaps for the awesome reviews:**

**Horse Diva, Akers2 (UPDATE TP! PLEEEASE!), ffgirlmoonie, GhostKitty00, Paine jnr. You guys make my day! Tell your friends, ok? I LOVE REVIEWS! **

**Here we go, Chapter 2. Hope you love it!**

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"_A new place. A new life, Flamey. It's going to be different ... but we'll be together. A new place where you won't be scared. No one's going to hurt you there." _

_The horse huffed his sweet, hay-scented breath in her face, and she sighed in contentment, stretching her hand out slowly to stroke the broad white blaze that was splashed in his rich chestnut coat. _

_Flame tensed. His ears went right back, pointing like guns. His nostrils flared as he snorted softly, unsure. _

Stop, s_omething told her. _Don't ruin it. _But she couldn't. She'd waited so long to be with him again, to touch him and now … her fingers brushed his nose. And he disappeared._

_

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NIKITA COSTELLO in bad fall at Cascade Finals_

_Seventeen year old star show-jumper Nikita Costello may be out of the running in her first horse Grand Prix season after a bad fall at the Cascade Circuit Finals, the last qualifier before the Horse of the Year Show to be held in September. Costello and eight year old stallion Salute the Stars were leading this seasons YR scoreboard – a pretty amazing achievement considering this is her first year on horses. Costello was in first place, the only one with a clear first round at Cascade with Anna Davis (Fire Wind) and Mark Johnston (Kalahari Mystery) both sitting on four faults. A nasty triple in the second round proved too hard for the pair as something appeared to spook Salute the Stars and he ran out sharply at the second jump. Unbalanced by the run out, Costello fell off, crashing into the solid jump stand and was knocked unconscious. Paramedics at the scene took her to hospital for observation after waking up but her prognosis is unconfirmed._

_Father Paul Costello was noticeably disappointed, cursing as the horse ran out and rushing onto the course to make sure his daughter was alright after falling off. He had a brief message for the press – "Yes, we're disappointed, of course, but we have other competitors from Four Oaks Barn here and there's always next year. We're just proud of Nikita coming this far in her first season of Grand Prix."_

_The competition was won by Mark Johnston and Kalahari Mystery, also trained by Paul Costello. Johnston and Anna Davis also qualified for the Young Rider final at Horse of the Year. It is unconfirmed whether Costello will compete. _

Amy was engrossed in the article about the show jumper. _I wonder if that could have been me … if I'd kept Storm. _Her eyes shifted out of focus as she imagined the powerful grey charging over the course at Horse of the Year. _Storm could do it. I know he could. But … Heartland is what matters now. Not competing. _Amy's glance shifted back to the article about Nikita Costello, to a photo. The seventeen year old looked tiny on a huge 17.2hh bay stallion, her face quietly glowing as she stroked the horse's neck. _That must be her father, _Amy thought, glancing at the solid man possessively holding the horse's bridle and smiling confidently.

_She has everything … a show jumping career, her father there to help her … _

A door banged and Amy looked up to see Ty entering the tack room with a saddle over one arm. He smiled as he saw her. "What are you up to?"

Blushing slightly – she didn't want him to see her daydreaming – Amy tried to slide the magazine out of sight. "Nothing ... really ..."

Ty knew her better than that. Coming over to the window seat where Amy was, he made her scoot over so he could sit down next to her. Picking up the magazine, he turned straight to the page Amy had been looking at. "Hmm … young rider of the year, hey? Dreaming about a certain grey horse, Amy?"

"Guilty." She smiled softly. "Not dreaming, not really. I know I should be over Storm by now but sometimes … I know I made the right decision, but I miss him."

Ty put his arm around Amy and squeezed her gently. "It's ok … I understand. But believe me; this girl hasn't got it all." He turned to look at the date of the magazine, three months earlier. "She died. A few days after this – they said it was from complications from her concussion but … wasn't that bad. At least, I didn't think it looked like it on TV."

Amy's face filled with pity. "Poor girl. Imagine being that close and having such an amazing horse and then … just like that. All gone."

Ty obviously didn't want to talk about it anymore. Looking pointedly at his watch, he spoke. "Talking about gone … doesn't your bus get here three minute ago on average?"

Amy checked her watch and swore silently. "Ok, I'd better go. See you later!"

* * *

"So your new horse is arriving today, Ames?" Soraya asked her friend, winding a strand of curly dark hair around her finger.

Amy nodded. "Yep. Something isn't right thought … it's a different sort of case than what we've had before. This is … strange." She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what's thrown at us …"

"I can't believe Lou's letting her stay with you! Normally she's so particular about the number of horses – and people – at Heartland at one time." Matt leaned over the back of his seat on the bus to talk to the two girls.

"Lou's gotten a lot better about that lately!" Amy laughed. "What with building the sleepout for Ty to live in, and also all the extra horses at the moment – she's being great. Although, I think it'll be different in winter, since they can't live out in the paddocks then."

"Speaking of that sleepout for Ty …" Matt grinned wickedly. "I'd be taking advantage of that if I was him!"

Amy slapped his arm, pretending to be shocked. "Matt! I don't know _what _you're on about … I'm only sixteen, Ty's only eighteen – we're not that stupid! Still," she added, her voice serious now, "it's great having him here all the time. We get to spend so much more time together."

Soraya looked pointedly at Matt. "Hmm, maybe we should build you a sleepout at my place …"

"Are you kidding?" Her boyfriend replied. "I'm going to be sneaking out to see this hottie that's going to be living at Amy's …"

Amy blocked her ears, grimacing. "Speaking of AMY'S … I'm going to have to leave the two of you to fight amongst yourselves – gotta get home."

As the bus pulled up to Heartland's driveway, Amy grabbed her bag, waved to Soraya and Matt, the hopped off the bus. As it pulled away loudly, she went over to the front paddock. Sundance neighed when he saw her and sauntered over to the fence, where Amy gave him a pat. "Don't worry, buddy, I promise I'll take you out for a ride with Ty this evening. Just gotta get this new guy sorted out, ok?"

Giving her pony one last stroke, Amy began making her way down the driveway to the house. After shouting hi to Lou and getting changed, she met Ty at the barn, and they got to work on mucking out the stables. Just as Amy put the finishing touches to the stable that was to be Flame's, she heard the loud engine of a horse truck outside. "Ty! New horse is here!" She called, then made her way back outside into the sunshine.

As she closed the barn door, the truck drove into the main yard and Amy got a glimpse of the girl in the passenger seat. Sitting straight and tall, her face was expressionless as she surveyed the rolling hills and valleys of Heartland.

The driver, an amiable, friendly man who had transported several horses to Heartland jumped down from the cabin and shook Amy's hand. "Nice to see you again, Ms Fleming."

"You too," she replied, helping him lift the ramp down. Loud snorts came from inside and Amy saw the horse for the first time. A bright chestnut with a fine head and an intelligent expression in his eyes, the gelding snorted as the light from outside hit his eyes.

"Isn't his owner going to come and unload her horse?" Amy asked the driver. He shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"Guess not."

_First impressions count … _Amy mused. _And this isn't a good first impression if she isn't even willing to unload her own horse!_

Ducking under the partition, Amy untied the gelding, first letting him sniff her outstretched hands. _I can't believe that awful woman thinks this horse is crazy … _

The driver swung the partition out of the way and Amy led Flame quietly down the ramp. She stopped in the yard, throwing a scathing glance at the girl still in the truck cab. Her expression was still impassive, but Amy was sure she could detect a tremor of anger. _Come and get _your_ horse if you're so damn annoyed. _But the girl made no move to get out of the cab. Amy shrugged, and began leading the chestnut into the stable without a further word to anyone.

Ty shot her a quizzical glance for a moment, and then went to speak to the truck driver as Amy disappeared. "What's the horse's full name?"

"Flame of Justice, apparently. But the girl says she calls him Flame for short. Now, if you'll excuse me ..." The man grimaced and pulled a folded wheelchair from the living compartment of the truck. Unfolding the thing awkwardly, as if he didn't know quite what to do, the man muttered to Ty, "They ask me to pick up a horse, I pick up the horse. But they didn't say anything bout a damned girl until I got there! And I couldn't back out then, already paid half an' everything – I've had to put up with _her _all the way from Montana!"

Ty watched, in a state of shock, as the man opened the girl's door and cringed. "I don't need _your _help," he heard her snarl. Shaking his head, the driver replied, "Look, girlie, we've been over this all the way from Montana – you gotta let me put you in the chair nicely, otherwise I'm going to _push _you out! I'm not taking you back with me!"

Things clicked into place in Ty's mind. Amy's glare at the girl who wouldn't get out to unload her own horse. Who _couldn't _unload her own horse. _Awkward, or what? _Ty mused. Then – _oh, shit. _"Um … I'd better go find Amy. I'll be right back …"

He found his girlfriend muttering as she clipped Flame's leadrope to the hook outside his stable. "Won't even come and unload her horse … yet she won't let him come here without her … load of – oh, Ty! Did you see her?" She unlatched the door and began taking Flame's float boots off.

"Amy … um, she couldn't unload the horse, 'cause she couldn't get out of the truck by herself. I don't know anything about it but … she's in a wheelchair."

Amy's jaw dropped. "Oh … shit."

"Yep. I said the same thing."

"Oh. Man. I feel so, so bad now. I was sending her death glares."

Ty laughed softly, attempting – unsuccessfully – to turn it into a cough when Amy glared at him. "I'll come out and apologise in a sec, I just need to check his legs."

She ran he hands gently over his muscled legs while Flame pulled contently at a full haynet. He had four white socks, and from what Amy could see he was fine even after a long journey. Checking his near foreleg, she noticed a scar about the size of a coin. It looked fairy recent and she ran her hands over it, wondering how Flame had got it. As she probed at the scar, he suddenly put his ears back and swished his tail warningly. Amy got the message, straightening up and stroking him.

"He doesn't like that," Ty observed.

"He's got a small scar there. I'll check it out later – I should ask his owner. God, Ty, do we even know her name?"

Shaking his head, Ty took her hand and led her back outside. Waiting for them was Flame's owner, sitting stonily in her wheelchair, facing away from them, out towards the paddocks. Amy felt her cheeks heat with a blush.

Ty looked for the truck driver. The man was back in the cab of his truck, and he waved, then pulled out of the yard, back down the driveway.

Amy spoke gently. "Look, I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean -"

"Is Flame okay from the journey? Are his legs alright?" The girl interrupted Amy brusquely, turning her wheelchair around. Amy got a good look at her for the first time.

She would have been pretty once, anyone could tell that. The girl's hair was a rich, dark brown that was almost black, her eyes a dark hazel colour, her skin tanned and olive. But she was thin, so thin that she was almost skin and bone, and her face was tired and haggard. Her eyes were dull, almost like she didn't care what she looked at. _What's happened to her? _Amy wondered, feeling pity for the girl who was to be staying with them for a month.

"Flame? Oh, he's fine. All his legs are okay, he's eating, he doesn't seem at all stressed from his journey."

The girl nodded, looking relieved, but her voice was still harsh and unfriendly. "You're Amy, right? The one who heals horses?" Amy nodded. "I'm Jazmine. Jazz for short."

Ty interrupted. "Nice to meet you, Jazz. We're going to do our best to help Flame." Jazz's face lost some of its anger, and almost softened for a moment. A weight seemed to settle on her shoulders and Amy could see how exhausted she was.

"Look, I know it's still early, but would you mind if I went to bed?" The question was addressed to Ty. Jazz ignored Amy completely. _Understandable, _Amy thought, _after the way I treated her earlier._

Ty nodded, smiling at Jazz. "That's fine. You've had a long journey. Come over to the house with us, and Amy and I will help you get settled in." He looked at Amy, and she nodded, then followed him and Jazz over to the house.

_What have we gotten ourselves into?_

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**Well, hope that was good enough for you guys! I promise more will be coming soon - probably in the next couple of days if I get good feedback as I'm on school holidays at the moment. **

**AiS**


	4. School

**_Thanks heaps to all my wonderful reviewers:ffgirlmoonie, PitBullLover, Ayana Starman, HorseAddict16, HorseDiva .. and of COURSE - AKERS2! STEPH! Who talks to me at random hours of the night/morning and inspires me to write and OH CRAP I just remembered I forgot to do that newspaper thing! AHH! So sorry! I will try and do later ..._**

**_Note: I don't actually own any of the Heartland books, so if the characters are OOC or Ty's hair is the wrong colour, sorry about that. I'm basically making up new physical appearances for the characters! Also: Scott is living at the Flemings' – he and Lou are engaged but not married yet._**

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Heart of Flame – Chapter 3**

_Saturday, Heartland_

Jazz woke fast, leaving her dream behind with a flutter of eyelashes. Sun washed across the bed that she lay in, and she studied the walls with sleepy eyes. Even though Amy had moved out to the other room in the sleepout so that Lou and Scott could have some privacy in the house, the walls were covered by numerous ribbons and sashes that Amy had won, ranging from her little dun pony Sundance to the big show jumper, Summer Storm, who she no longer owned.

Jazz felt a twinge of jealousy. _Look at all the ribbons she's won … I'll never get to do that now. _Pulling back the covers on her bed, she stared at her legs with disgust.

She gasped and pulled the covers over herself again as the door opened, and a young woman a few years older than Amy poked her head in the door. A kind smile was on her face as she pushed her short, curly blonde hair out of her eyes. "Hey, Jazz. I'm Lou, Amy's sister."

Jazz just stared at her, not saying a word. _If she's anything like her sister …_

But Lou's face was kind and gentle, and she only smiled at Jazz – a complete contrast to the scowling Amy of the evening before. Jazz allowed herself a small, quick smile and Lou's face brightened in return.

"I just came up to help you get dressed. I thought since it was Saturday you'd want to get out with Amy, help her with Flame."

Jazz's face darkened in rage. "I don't need your help! I don't need help to get dressed!" Ripping the covers off her bed angrily, she tried so hard to move her legs, screwing up her face with effort. But they didn't move. At all.

Jazz hung her head, fighting back tears that were gathering behind her eyes. _I'm useless. Now all of them will know that I'm absolutely _useless.

Then, she felt a soft touch on her arm, and lifting her tear-streaked face, Jazz looked up into Lou's kind, but concerned gaze. "Jazz," she started seriously. "You're going to be here for a month or more. You need to accept the Amy, Ty, Jack and I are going to be your family for that time. We're all here to help you."

Jazz studied Lou's face. Then slowly, uncertainly, she let Lou take her hand. It was a start.

Breakfast was awkward, to say the least. Grandpa Jack, Lou and Ty were friendly to Jazz, but she was defensive and replied with as little as possibly when they asked her questions about Flame. Amy sat opposite Jazz, feeling ashamed of the way she'd treated her the night before – Jazz wouldn't even look at her.

But after breakfast, that had to change. As Amy and Ty helped to clear away the dishes, Jazz rolled herself outside to wait for them. Ty caught Amy's arm and said softly, "I'll go ahead and start mucking out the stalls. You just concentrate on getting to know Jazz and Flame, okay?"

"But Ty, that's not fair!" Amy protested. "I can't leave you to do all the work … and besides, Jazz doesn't like me already."

Ty gazed steadily back at her. "You're going to be the one primarily working with Flame, Amy. You need to get to know her."

She sighed in defeat, then followed Jazz outside. Ty smiled softly.

Jazz was waiting for Amy, her dark hazel eyes calm and collected. She smiled at Amy, but it was more of a sardonic sneer than a smile. And she said nothing.

Amy was definitely feeling uncomfortable. She sighed, feeling the weight of Ty's words. Staring straight at Jazz, she spoke the girl. "Look, Jazz. I know I was nasty to you last night, but – can't we have a new start? I'm apologizing for being a bitch, and I need to be on good terms with you if I'm going to help Flame."

Jazz still smiled scathingly at Amy. "Fine. I'll be nice to you. But that doesn't mean we have to be friends."

Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. That's … good. Now, let's go see Flame."

As Amy began walking, and Jazz wheeled her chair, the older girl attempted to start a conversation. "So, Jazz, how old are you?"

"Fifteen." A brusque, one word answer. But at least she was talking now.

"So you're a sophomore?" Jazz nodded curtly.

"I think that Fletcher woman has organised for you to come to school with me." Jazz almost laughed at the distaste in Amy's voice. She didn't like Fletcher either. _She thinks my horse is _crazy! _She's the bloody crazy one..._

"I'm sure you'll ... uh … love going to Jefferson High. There are heaps of great people to be friends with …" Jazz snorted as Amy trailed off, realising just how stupid her sentence sounded.

Trying to switch to a subject that both were more comfortable with, Amy decided to ask Jazz about her riding. "So, Jazz, what sort of things did you used to do with Flame?"

Suddenly, instead of a sardonic smile, Jazz's face was closed up and defensive. She didn't reply, so Amy prompted her. "Jazz?"

"Fine." The younger girl spat out. "We used to event up to prelim level."

Amy stopped in her tracks, staring at the girl who was wheeling herself ahead. "P-prelim?" She spluttered. "That's … that's … you mean you were doing CCI level at fifteen?"

Jazz just continued, throwing a curt, "Yes. You got a problem with it?" over her shoulder. Amy shook her head in amazement as she followed the younger girl. _She was competing against people twice her age, on internationally ranked courses? Against people from _Europe_? What did Fletcher say … _The woman's words rang in Amy ears. _"She used to do some sort of competing on him …" Slightly more than some sort of competing …_

But Amy forgot her amazement as Jazz let out a small cry of joy, seeing Flame's head bobbing over the stable door. The horse whinnied to her softly, his eyes shining. Though Amy didn't exactly like Jazz, she couldn't help but see how much Flame obviously loved his owner. Remembering what Jazz had just said, Amy whistled softly as she took in Flame's gleaming, muscled body. _That must be one amazing horse._

Jazz rolled slowly towards Flame, speaking to Amy over her shoulder, all former nastiness forgotten. "They didn't let me see him after … well; I haven't seen him for a while. The one and only time Fletcher took me to see him … let's say, he didn't like her." The younger girl laughed softly.

Then, as if Jazz couldn't bear it any longer, her hands started working madly on the wheels of her chair, as she tried as fast as she could to get to Flame. Then – Amy almost saw it coming. Jazz sped up until, right outside Flame's stall, one of the many ruts in the stable floor, and her chair tipped dangerously. She uttered a small shriek as it tipped her out onto the floor, and she landed heavily on her arm. The chair crashed to the floor with a metallic screech as Amy swore and rushed to help her.

Flame started as the chair hit the floor, eyes rolling, and let out a loud snort. It rolled over, banging loudly, as he danced in the stall, trying to throw himself against the door. He was panicking at the loud noise. But Amy couldn't deal with the horse just yet. Jazz lay on the ground, dust covering her clothes as she tried in vain to pick herself up. Amy knelt down beside her gently, turning the chair upright. "Jazz? Are you okay?"

Jazz turned her face to the older girl, anger and humiliation flickering over it. "Do I _look _alright, Amy?"

Amy didn't know what to say. _"Uh, yeah, Jazz, you look great!" "Um … no, Jazz, you look awful."_

But before she embarrassed herself by saying _anything, _Ty was kneeling down next to Jazz, gently asking her what had happened. Quickly, he turned to Amy, and her eyes met his for a moment, telling him how grateful she was. He gestured to Flame quickly, and Amy got the message. It was probably dangerous, letting herself into the stall of a horse as frightened as Flame, but she had to risk it.

Distracted by Amy holding out her hands for him to sniff, Flame calmed down and stood on the spot, twitching every few seconds. Amy spoke to him soothingly, and then began T-touch on his blaze. Moving gradually up his face, around his ears, and down to his muzzle, she felt the calming influence of the T-touch as well. Flame eventually relaxed, stood quietly, and dropped his nose in Amy's hands.

Meanwhile, Ty crouched down next to Jazz, his hand on her arm. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "It's okay, Jazz," he murmured softly. "Everyone embarrasses themselves sometimes. I guess it means we need to get new floors around here …" Jazz looked into Ty's kind green eyes – which were presently sparkling with mirth. A small smile spread across her face slowly, and Ty grinned back at her.

"Ty? Do you think you could … help me?" Jazz gestured at the chair, and Ty nodded. He felt her body tense as he lifted her up in strong but gentle arms, and placed her in the chair. "Thanks," she replied, not meeting his eyes. Then, she wheeled over to Flame's stall, this time slowly and carefully.

Amy was concentrating so hard on the T-touch that she didn't even hear Jazz approach. Flame did, however, and when the chair's metal screeched again, he jumped, banging his nose on Amy's head. Ty stood behind Jazz, his expression apologetic as the horse started. The look on Jazz's face was almost desperate as she held her hand out for Flame to sniff. He shied away from her hand, confusion evident all over his face. Jazz backed away slowly, disappointment evident in her face and manner, all the sarcasm of before gone. Amy murmured softly to Flame and resumed her T-touch, as Jazz wheeled further away, so Flame couldn't see her.

After a moment, Amy came out of the stable. Jazz looked up at her, a different expression in her eyes. It took Amy a moment to recognise it. _Almost something like – respect._

If it hadn't been so silent as they made their way out of the barn together, Amy would have never heard the words that Jazz whispered quietly to herself, sorrowfully. "He doesn't know me."

_

* * *

Monday, Jefferson High School_

One perk of having Jazz around was that Lou decided she would drop them off to school every morning. Understandably, Jazz didn't want to ride the bus every morning, and Amy didn't mind getting a few extra minutes at Heartland every morning.

Jazz was silent all throughout breakfast and Amy suspected that she was terrified of facing the population of Jefferson High School. Though she felt sorry for the younger girl, Amy had absolutely no idea of what she would go through today.

Sunday had definitely been an improvement on Friday and Saturday. For some reason, after seeing Amy calm her terrified horse down, Jazz had become civil – almost friendly towards her. Though it had been raining and Amy hadn't ridden Flame, the two had talked all afternoon and Jazz told Amy all about preliminary one day events.

Amy still couldn't believe that this broken, battered Jazz was the same as one who'd ridden to such a high level. _And what happened to her to _make _her this battered? _Amy wondered if it was a riding accident – that would explain the scar that was on Flame's leg. She didn't want to probe too deeply into Jazz's past yet, though, for fear that the younger girl would back out altogether and become defensive again.

_We can't push her too far yet – first she's got to handle school._

Jazz's face was tight and nervous as they waved goodbye to Lou in the school carpark.

_I can't do this. It's going to be too different, too strange. They're going to wonder about me … why didn't I just go back to Cascade High? At least there everyone would know what happened … _

Brushing aside her loose, dark hair, Jazz looked ahead to the buildings that made up Jefferson High. Thankfully they weren't too tall, so she hoped that they wouldn't have too many sets of stairs on the inside.

"Amy!" A tall boy with short, tousled blonde hair waved to them from across the lawn at the front of the school, and for a moment Jazz's heart leapt. _Could it be? _But no, as she got closer, she could see that the boy wasn't anyone she knew.

"Matt! Hey!" Amy called back, her face breaking into a smile. Matt looked curiously at Jazz, who was looking at him stonily, not an ounce of emotion on her face. Amy hugged him, then remembered the younger girl.

"Oh, Matt – I forgot. This is Jazz. She's Flame's owner – you know, our newest horse." Matt's eyebrows rose for a moment, but he quickly concealed his surprise. Sticking out his hand, he grinned cheekily at Jazz. "Heya, Jazz. Hope you're going to like it at our school."

She couldn't help grinning back at Matt and shaking his hand, though she knew that she would be their main topic of conversation for the rest of the day. "Do you ride, Matt?"

He grimaced. "Sometimes. My brother's a vet, Scott – Lou's fiancé. Can't say I'm that good though."

Amy broke in excitedly. "Matt, did you know that Jazz used to …" Then she made the mistake of glancing at the younger girl's face. Jazz was frantically gesturing to her not to say anything. When Amy looked at her, puzzled, Jazz glared back at her, hoping that she'd get the message.

"Used to …" Matt waited for her to go on.

"Used to do eventing with Flame." Amy finished quietly, adding nothing about the high level that Jazz had competed to.

Matt shivered. "Jumps. Not cool. Don't like jumps at all …"

Jazz could have almost laughed at the expression of utter distaste on Matt's face. Amy continued her friend's sentence. "See, Jazz, Soraya and I were teaching Matt how to jump a few years ago, and we were leading him over a jump – seriously, 30 centimetres – and he fell off. At trot."

Jazz put her hand over her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. Matt mock scowled at both of them, but his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Jazz suspected he was slightly embarrassed. After all, thirty centimetres wasn't … a lot.

"Speaking of Soraya …" As Amy spoke her other friend's name, Matt turned quickly, scanning the crowd, as a tall girl with dark curls bounced up to them, a wide smile on her face.

"Jazz! Hey! Amy's told me heaps about you, and Flame – I've got to come over and see him! He sounds so cool!" Soraya smiled at Jazz, immediately making the younger girl feel welcome.

"Soraya!" Amy scolded. "Jazz's only been here two nights! Give her a chance to settle in!"

Jazz spoke, feeling more friendly and charitable than she had when arriving at Heartland. "Sure you can come see him … I mean, he's at Heartland for healing, but that doesn't make him a bad horse or anything. He's a real sweetie."

Matt slipped his arm around Soraya's waist as her dark eyes stared at Jazz intently. Jazz felt herself blush under the other girl's intense scrutiny. "You know, Jazz … I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before … did you ever come to events around here with Flame before …" Soraya clapped a hand over her mouth before she could say anymore. But, strangely enough, the normally prickly Jazz didn't mind. _Shit. She'd better not remember._

"It's okay, Soraya … no, I've never been to any shows around here before," she replied quickly, not meeting any of the threes' eyes.

"Well, look what Fleming dragged in. Another crippled stray." Jazz froze as the nasal tone of another girl reached her ears. Amy groaned and turned around slowly, obviously not wanting to face whoever it was. Jazz's cheeks flamed red, not with embarrassment – but with anger, towards the person who had dared insult her. Spinning her wheelchair around, she laid eyes on a tall, blonde girl with a smirk on her face. Seeing Jazz looking at her, the girl smiled sweetly. "Shouldn't you be in special ed, sweetie?"

Opening her mouth, Jazz prepared to let loose with a stream of inappropriate words.

But Soraya got there first.

"Look, bitch – we know that you're looking for classmates in special ed, but that doesn't give you a reason to go round _assuming _that people want to join in with you. Get a _life_, Ashley – Jazz is with us."

The blonde's demeanour changed instantly. "Soraya – I … I – Matt, _why _are you hanging out with this lot?" Obviously unable to think of a better comeback, she stalked off, followed by two girls throwing dirty looks at Jazz, Soraya, Amy and Matt.

The other three turned back to face Jazz. "And _that_, Jazz, is Ashley Grant," Amy explained with a sigh. "She's got serious, serious problems …"

Matt looked pensive. "She's not really that bad, Jazz, she's just got no one to understand her."

Jazz snickered. "Sure, Matt. I'm afraid that I share Amy's opinion on girls like _that._ But … thanks, guys – for sticking up for me like that." She stared at her knees for a moment, twisting her fingers together. "Umm … Amy? You … you _didn't _register me for special ed, did you? Because I'm just as together as the rest of you, you know."

Amy couldn't stop from laughing softly. "Don't worry, Jazz. You're not in special ed." The bell rang as she was speaking the last word, and the four of them began making their way towards the main building.

_Maybe this isn't going to be as bad as I thought.

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**So that's chapter 3 - hope it's not too boring! Not much fun to write, but I need to set up the story before I get into the COOL STUFF! **

**PLEASE review!**

**Ais**


	5. Flame

**Heart of Flame – Chapter 4 **

_I'm not even going to try and __apologise__! Sorry for keeping so many of you waiting far too long. I'm going to be better, I swear – there are moments in this story that I really want to write! Thanks to Amber for giving me a hurry up. _

_Thanks to all who have reviewed especially STEPH! And also Amber (PitBullLover). Steph – sorry I haven't been on AIM – will try and be on this weekend to talk to you! _

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_Friday afternoon, Heartland. _

Jazz sighed as she maneuvered her wheelchair slowly into the Fleming's big ranch house. She was exhausted after a week at Jefferson High. _It wasn't quite as bad as I expected, though. _Apart from a bit of initial curiosity, as soon as Amy had told everyone that Jazz was a rider, she was generally accepted by all the kids. The area around Heartland was filled with equestrians and Jazz was sure this was why she was so welcome – people knew she was here to help her horse.

It wasn't that the week had been exhausting mentally – Jazz was well able to keep up with the schoolwork and had easily held her own. It was the sheer hard work of getting round the three levels of Jefferson High in a wheelchair – not an easy feat for someone who hadn't actually been in one for that long. Several times Jazz had been glad that Amy was there to keep an eye out for her as she went sprawling to the ground in the crush of high school students.

She'd made several casual friends but really, she wasn't looking for long-term friends – Jazz wasn't someone who needed a best friend there by her side the whole way. _Well, up until now. _Until now she'd always had Flame. Now … Now she didn't want to think about.

After seeing Amy and her friends stick up for her against Ashley the first day, Jazz had concluded that she might as well be friends with the older girl. Though her jealousy was always there, pulsing quietly in the background, she made an effort to be all sweetness and light when Amy was around – after all, she _was _the one healing Flame.

_Ashley. _Jazz really had no words to describe the girl. Arrogant, conceited – she thought she knew everything about … well, everything! After the first embarrassing incident on the first day of school, she had mainly avoided Amy and Jazz – though Jazz was pretty sure she had heard Ashley muttering snide remarks out of the corner of her mouth as she went by.

But now wasn't the time to be worrying about Ashley. Today, for the first time, Amy was actually going to work with Flame! Jazz had been eager for her to begin work straight away, but with numerous other horses in the barn and rain every day that week, Amy and Ty simply hadn't had time.

Today, Friday, was sunny – at last. Heartland, unfortunately, didn't have the luxury of an indoor arena – and Amy didn't particularly want to stand out in the rain with Flame for hours. Today was the day.

Jazz had been put out when Amy suggested that she didn't watch the first few sessions, but the older girl had patiently explained that Flame might be affected by her presence, and she really just wanted to make him focus on concentrating and bonding with her. She'd told Jazz to wait an hour, then come down to the barn so she could say goodnight to the horse.

The past three months had been so hard for Jazz, not being able to be on Flame's back – not even being able to communicate with him properly. He was the first – and only – horse she'd had after moving off ponies, and the bond the two of them shared – well, she'd thought it was unbreakable. Now, with Flame's adverse reaction to her whenever she came near – Jazz wasn't so sure. And it was breaking her heart.

_I need to get back up on him. I need him to see me as I was before. _

Jazz was impatient. She always had been. What she wanted this time, she didn't know. To be well? To ride again? She smiled softly. Right now, all she wanted was to hug her horse goodnight.

_Forty-five minutes to go. _

_

* * *

_

Flame nickered softly as Amy opened his stable door. "Yes, I know, Flamey. Finally you get to come out for some real exercise!" Flame had been turned out in a small paddock by himself every day, but this was the first time he would be going into the round pen to work with Amy.

The chestnut gelding rubbed his head against her arm affectionately as she clipped his leadrope to the halter he was already wearing. Amy took a moment to rub the bright white blaze on his head which tapered down to an elegant drop of white on his muzzle. Flame was certainly one of the most calm and friendly horses she had worked with yet – frankly, she just couldn't see what Lisa Fletcher meant when she said he was crazy and traumatised.

_I mean, sure, there was that incident when he went crazy in his stall – but that was after Jazz had fallen over and made a lot of noise in her wheelchair. Could it be possible that Flame isn't as traumatised as that woman made to sound out? _

But she hadn't even tried to join up with him yet. This was no time to be making assumptions about the horse.

Flame followed behind Amy, keeping a respectful distance away from her while still following willingly. She opened the gate into the round pen and turned Flame around, then unclipped the leadrope and stood back, waiting to see him run off. She wondered if he'd be as excited about his newfound freedom as Katie, the young dressage mare, had been a few days ago when she'd joined up with her for the second time. She and Ty were taking the next step this weekend – letting Ty stay in the arena while Amy joined up with the nervous mare. Though she longed to think some more about Ty – they'd had hardly any time together with all the horses needing attention that week - Amy shook her thoughts back to Flame.

Curiously, he wasn't exploding like Katie had. After giving Amy a quizzical look, he trotted over to the other side of the arena and sniffed at the mix of rubber and sand on the ground, then lay down and rolled thoroughly. After shaking and snorting, Flame then trotted back to Amy, both ears fixed on her.

He stopped two steps away, giving her that same curious look as before. She could almost see the thoughts running through his mind – _what does she want me to do? _

Stepping forward, she flicked the leadrope gently at Flame, and he moved back. She flicked it again and moved towards him. Flame moved away and began walking. She flicked the leadrope once more and he broke into a trot, responding and trotting around her in a circle as she turned her body. After just a few seconds of trot his ear was fixed firmly on her and he began slowing, making chewing motions with his jaw.

Amy was amazed. _What? So fast? _She'd never had a horse do this before – never had one respond to her presence so quickly. Most of the other horses she'd worked with had been reluctant to acknowledge her at all within the first few minutes of her attempt at join up. They'd been far too busy enjoying the freedom of galloping around the round pen.

To test Flame, she stopped whirling the leadrope and turned away. Within seconds she heard hoofbeats as he walked calmly towards her. Then, she felt the soft huff of warm horse breath as he hung his head over her shoulder. Rubbing his blaze again, she murmured softly to Flame. Inside, Amy was jubilant. _That's the quickest join up I've **ever **done with any horse! _

Turning, making sure that she wasn't touching Flame, Amy walked away. He followed her without hesitation, practically begging her to let him come too. She ran faster around the round pen and Flame trotted straight behind her. Over a small jump of about 60 cm – no problem, Flame trotted over it as though it was nothing more than a pole. _Well, it probably isn't more than a twig to him, after doing prelim horse trials! _Amy chuckled.

Stopping in the middle of the arena, she waited a moment. Sure enough, Flame stopped straight behind her. Turning around, Amy saw that his bright, intelligent eyes were fixed on her, waiting to see what she would do next. She moved around to his side and, as she had with Katie, began stroking and massaging all over. Flame relaxed, cocking one leg up and sighing deeply, his whiskery muzzle drooping lower.

After a few minutes of this, Amy placed her hands on his back and leant some weight against him. Flame flinched sharply and his whole body went tense – as if even the thought of her mounting him was scary. Amy spoke to him softly, reassuring the gelding that she wasn't going to hurt him. He relaxed again.

Having achieved this, and sure she had forged some sort of bond with the horse, Amy decided they'd done enough for the day. Clipping the leadrope back on, she looked at her watch. _I can't believe it's six already! _Jazz would be coming down soon to see how they'd gone.

After putting Flame back in his stable, Amy stood there in the hallway, just watching him. Though she was a feed in the manger and a full haynet, Flame didn't seem interested in any of that. He simply stood at the door, eyes fixed firmly on Amy.

Hearing footsteps, Amy turned around as Ty slipped his arms over her shoulders and leaned over her, looking at Flame. "Haven't had a chance to talk to you all day, Amy. How's it going?"

She leaned back on his chest gratefully, for the first time realising how tired she was. "Good." Amy replied, yawning. Ty hugged her gently.

"Tired?"

"Sure am. I'm so glad it's the weekend … I can finally work with Flame. You should have seen him, Ty. I've never joined up that quickly with a horse!"

Flame nickered softly, keen for their attention to return to him. Ty nodded. "I've never seen a horse so desperate to be friends with anyone."

"Makes me wonder what happened to him – and to Jazz." Amy replied.

"What do you mean?" Ty looked at her quizzically.

"Flame was fine with me on the ground, but as soon as I put some weight onto his back he got upset. And Jazz – just the fact that she's in a wheelchair is … strange. I need to know what happened to them – _both _of them. It might make a difference to how I much I can heal Flame."

Ty nodded. "But – Amy, anyone can see Jazz has been through a lot. I wouldn't push her too fast, too far. She's only been here a week, she's adjusting to a completely new life with people who she hasn't known very long. Just … be careful."

"I will be. Don't worry. I don't want to make things any worse for Jazz. It's got to be hard enough not being able to ride your horse, let alone get near to him."

"Speaking of getting near to people …" Ty looked down at her, a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and Amy felt her heart race a little faster. Even after being Ty's girlfriend for months now, she still felt that same flutter of excitement every time he kissed her. She grinned back at him, feeling like an idiot.

Ty took her hand and gently led her into the tack room, away from the all-knowing eyes of the horse that was still watching both of them intently.

* * *

Jazz peered around the corner of the barn, trying to see if Amy or Ty were around. There seemed to be no sign of either of them – only the horses who all stared at Jazz and the noise she made for a second, and then returned to the important business of dinner. Except for one.

Flame's head shot up and his ears pricked, pointing straight up, as he caught sight of his owner. Jazz broke into a smile as she saw his gorgeous, familiar chestnut face. "Heya, Flamey boy! How're you doing?"

He snorted loudly as her wheelchair bumped along a rut in the ground. Jazz kept her voice low and soothing. "Hey, hey, it's alright, Flamey. Don't worry, boy, I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay."

When she was right up close to his stable door, Jazz slid the bolt back quietly, then looked around furtively to see if anyone was coming. _Why should I feel so secretive about going to see my own horse? _She scolded herself. But that niggling feeling that she was putting herself – and Flame – in danger wouldn't leave her head.

Holding onto the swinging door, Jazz managed to pull herself upright, and sort of lurch into the stable. Flame backed up into the corner of his stall, blowing air through his nostrils loudly – the way horses do when they're not sure what's happening. Jazz spoke soothingly, but his distress only increased.

She tried to move closer to him, but her grip suddenly slipped and she let go of the door. With nothing to balance her now, and her legs so unresponsive they might as well be nonexistent, Jazz let out a soft cry as she tumbled to the ground.

She jarred her arm hard on the ground and cursed as the hoofbeats behind her grew louder. Flame was panicking. _And it's all my fault. Stupid, stupid, Jazz! _

Jazz cursed louder as the stable door swung open with a slow creak. Turning to look at Flame, trying desperately to move, she realised what the horse was doing. He was scared. Frightened badly, he saw his only route of escape as the open door. There was only one problem.

She was lying directly in his path.

Whereas before she had been scared for Flame, Jazz was now terrified for herself. _What will happen if he tramples me? Oh, shit, Flame I didn't mean to do this, I shouldn't have, all I wanted to do was say goodnight to you! _She tried to talk to him.

"Flame. Please. Who-oah, boy, calm down … whoah …"

It was no use. All 16.1hh of Flame were ready to flee, and he gathered his courage to make a bid for freedom. Too late, Jazz knew remembered that horses were a flight animal – did she think she could make Flame understand what had happened to her merely by talking to him? He was scared – and when horses are scared, they run. Hard. And fast.

Curling into herself protectively, Jazz winced, waiting for the crashing hooves to fall upon her shoulders and perhaps end the pain that was all over her body forever. There was no way she could survive her horse smashing her skull with his hooves.

Suddenly, there was a shout outside the stable. "Shit – Ty, Flame's door is open! And Jazz's chair … oh my god –" Amy's voice was panic-stricken. "Jazz, where are you?"

"In here – please – Amy –" Jazz flung her arm out, the sudden motion stopping Flame in his tracks. The older girl's face appeared over the stable door and she gasped as she saw Jazz on the floor, inches away from Flame's flailing hooves. "JAZZ!"

Flinging the door open, Amy grabbed Jazz's arm and half dragged her out of the stable. Jazz was numb, unresponsive – Amy was sure that shock was setting in. Suddenly, strong hands were helping her carry the younger girl and Amy looked in shock at Ty's worried green eyes. "What was she _thinking?_" Ty shook his head and motioned to the open stall door and terrified horse. Amy swore and bolted the door quickly. She didn't have time to calm Flame right now – her duty at the moment was to Jazz.

She half stumbled, half ran into the tack room after Ty, where he had placed Jazz on one of the flimsy plastic chairs surrounding a table, on which were piled numerous dog-eared horse magazines.

"Amy –"

"Ty – thanks. But it's okay. I can handle this now." Amy was determined to be the one in control this time. Ty shot her a worried glance, but went out the door when she gestured to him.

Going over to Jazz, Amy took her hand and squeezed it, trying to see if she would respond. There was a vague, glassy look in her deep brown eyes – as if she couldn't see Amy in front of her.

"Jazz? Jazmine!" Amy shouted her name.

Jazz's eyes flickered, and she began shivering suddenly. "Amy? I … Amy! I'm sorry, I don't know …"

"It's okay. You're alright, Jazz. You're inside."

Jazz looked around, only just seeming to realise where she was.

"What were you doing? I would have thought after last time, you'd realise …"

The younger girl looked up at her, dark eyes piercing Amy's. "I just wanted to give him a hug! Is that too much to ask, Amy? Is it too much for me to want to hug my own horse?"

"Jazz, he's scared of you! He's _frightened!_ You can't just go up to him and try and hug him like this! And what were you thinking, trying to get out of your wheelchair? You know darn well you can't even move, let alone walk!"

Both girls' eyes were flashing now, conveying the anger they felt towards the other. "I just wanted to say goodnight to him! You don't know how it feels Amy, damn you, you don't _know!_" Jazz cried. "I can't touch my horse, let alone ride him! How can you lecture me when you don't know what it's like? You don't know _anything _about what it's like to be me!"

Amy's glance softened. It was true. She _didn't _know anything about what it was like to be Jazz. She needed to. "Jazz," she began gently. "I need you to tell me what happened. To you and Flame. It doesn't matter what it was – a riding accident or whatever. I need to know – I can only heal him when I know how he was hurt and made to be scared in the first place."

To her surprise, the younger girl's eyes filled with angry tears. "I can't and I won't. I'm not telling _you _anything."

Amy stared at her in disbelief. She felt like shaking the girl. "Don't you care, Jazz? Don't you care about Flame? _I have to know why he's scared._"

But there was no response. Jazz simply turned her head away and ignored her.

* * *

_Kind of short I know, but I really wanted to get this up tonight since I'm going to a dance tomorrow night! WOOT! It's going to be really fun … yea, that's all from me, please PLEASE review – you get ginger muffins and horsey hugs from Frankie if you do._

_Oh yes – I LOVE DUNS! _

_That is all I have to say! _


	6. Gordon

**Heart of Flame – Chapter 5**

_Thanks so much to all of you awesome people who've reviewed again. I'm slightly confused, though – some people have this story on their alerts and/or faves and have never even reviewed! Yes, I DO know who you are and I'm just wondering if you could possibly take the time to review? It only takes a second! Thanks!_

_Special thanks to (as always): Ledagirl123, AKERS2 (STEPH! LOVE YA! I need to talk to you and that soccer dude Maksym is it? He is not hot! NOT NOT NOT!), HorseAddict16, PitBullLover, ADEN because I HAVE to thank you! (Don't GO! PLEASE! I NEED YOU MORE THAN HAWAII DOES!), ffgirlmoonie and Faithheart (very cool name by the way, would be an awesome name for a horse. Do you mind if a name a horse after you in this story?). I appreciate your reviews so much! Er ... sorry if no ginger muffins arrived … I swear I sent them all … I hope you all liked finding out a BIT more about Jazz in the last chapter and you will find out even more in this one! Oh, and do let me know if you appreciate my wonderful horse-naming skills – my first foal that I breed is destined to be called CRISPY NOODLES! _

_**I just realised that I'm introducing a new character in this chapter called Daniel – and we already have a Daniel who is a good rider in the books! ARGH! I'm sorry, guys, but I REALLY don't want to change it now – I've got his character all in my head already! I'm not going to change it now, but if you're having real problems separating characters then let me know … I repeat, this is NOT Daniel who had Amber.** _

_

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Heartland, Saturday Morning_

Amy made her way to Sundance's stable early on Saturday morning. The buckskin gelding whuffled softly as he caught sight of his owner. Amy flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder as she stroked her pony under his chin. Sundance's head drooped lower and lower. "I'm so sorry, Sunny. I haven't ridden you all week! But don't worry; we'll go out on a trail ride with Ty and one of the other horses this afternoon, okay?" Amy had no clue whether Sunny actually _understood _what she was saying – but they had a pretty unbreakable bond now, after being together for so long. Sunny was extra special to Amy as he was the first horse she had helped her mother heal.

A loud yell of "Amy, phone!" from the house snapped the girl out of her reverie. Sundance looked disappointed as she gave him one last pat, promising to return later. As Amy walked down the barn aisle, she made a quick note of all the horses, in this part of the barn at least, so she could decide who needed to be worked that day – Katie, definitely, Jake, a horse scared of roads, Sky, who had a complete aversion to a float of any kind, and Whisper, a badly abused and neglected horse, all needed to be worked. For the first time ever – well, in a long time at least – Amy had no assignments or work to catch up on – a whole weekend for riding and working with the horses!

She was relieved that she could finally help Ty out a bit – and maybe the two of them could have a bit of time to themselves as well. They'd had no time to be just _Amy and Ty _lately – Amy and Ty without a horse or human between them. _I can't wait til we finally have some time to ourselves. _Amy felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of finally, finally being alone with Ty again. It seemed as though work and school had been getting in the way all the time lately.

"AMY! Move it!"

_Oh, crap! _Amy remembered the actual reason why she was heading back to the house. _Phone call!_

Lou stood on the porch holding the cordless phone and Amy smiled at her sheepishly as she sprinted up to her older sister. Lou's stern face broke into a smile and Amy asked quietly, "Who is it?"

"Another potential customer, I think."

Amy nodded and sat down on the porch stairs, hearing Lou turn to go back inside where she was making breakfast.

"Hello? Amy Fleming speaking."

"Er ... hello. This is Daniel Thomson – you're the woman who heals the horses at Heartland?" Amy nearly dropped the phone in shock as she heard the clear British accent – and what the guy was saying. _Daniel. Thomson. One of the most AMAZING eventing riders – ever! _

Feeling slightly faint, Amy replied, hoping desperately that she wouldn't embarrass herself. "Yes … I've worked with the horses at Heartland, since my mother's death. My older sister, Lou, who you just spoke to – she does the business side of it."

"You sound very young – not the person I would expect."

Feeling slightly ridiculous and embarrassed, Amy explained. "I'm only sixteen but my mom, Marion – she taught me everything I know. It's not just me, either – Ty, he's eighteen; he's really good with the horses. We have several others who help out as well."

Daniel still sounded slightly skeptical as he went on. "Well, Miss Fleming, I'm sure you know who I am." Amy nodded, then realised that he obviously couldn't see her.

"Of course, Mr Thomson."

"I have a young up and coming eventer – lovely gelding, about 17hh, Thoroughbred-Warmblood cross. We're about to start competing him – he's only six, you see."

"He sounds nice." Amy replied, still feeling flustered.

"We've got one problem. You see, before he came to us – Gordon, that is – we're pretty sure he was badly abused by a previous owner when he was very little. He's a lovely horse, very affectionate – but when he gets scared, there is absolutely nothing you can do to change his mind and make him see that you're trying to help him. And he is _terrified _of water. Terrified of water jumps, puddles – you name it."

"And to be a top eventer, he obviously has to take water jumps in his stride – and those jumps can be pretty huge."

"Exactly, Miss Fleming. And that's where you come in – I'm desperately hoping that you'll be able to help me."

"Well … I've never worked with a horse like this before, but I'll try to help you – and Gordon – any way I can. Only – we don't have a cross country course, or any sort of water really, at Heartland. There's not an awful lot that I can do with him here."

"Would it be better if you treated him at my barn, then? It's only half an hours drive from yours, and we have a full cross country course, water complex and everything."

"That would be great, Mr Thomson! When would you like me to start?"

"As soon as possible. Is there any chance you'd be able to come over to meet him – and me – today?"

Amy checked her watch. It was only eight o'clock – the stables were all already done and horses brushed, if she went to see Gordon now she'd be back in plenty of time for a ride with Ty and some work on the other horses.

"Sure! That'll be fine – I should be able to be there in about three-quarters of an hour. Could I have some directions, Mr Thomson?"

"Please, call me Daniel." He proceeded to give Amy directions to his barn, Mystery Creek Stable.

She bounced into the kitchen a moment later, thrilled with the prospect of meeting – and _working _– with a top class, British eventer. Picking up a stray _Horse & Pony _magazine, Amy flipped to the eventing section – sure enough, there was a picture of Daniel Thomson, Advanced (CCI ) Champion at a local three day event.

"Lou!" She called excitedly. Her sister came to peer over her shoulder, her soft blonde curls brushing Amy's shoulder.

"THIS is who was on the phone! THIS is who I am going to be working with!" Even Lou knew who Daniel Thomson was.

"Daniel Thomson? That's amazing, that he knows who _we _are! And little old Heartland! Imagine what great publicity it will be for us!" Lou's jubilant face grew serious. "Amy … are you sure? Sure you have time for another horse? We just don't have the inside room at the moment!"

"That's the best part – he doesn't want Gordon here. We just don't have the facilities to help him – he wants me to work with him at HIS place – Mystery Creek Stable! I'm going to go over there after breakfast – if Ty can give me a ride."

"Give you a ride where?" Amy looked up to see Ty enter the kitchen, tousled chestnut hair flopping over his bright green eyes. She smiled as she saw him, realising just how much she was looking forward to their trail ride that afternoon. Ty's mouth curved into a grin as he caught Amy's eye, guessing what she was thinking about.

"I – I mean, both of us – we've been asked to work for Daniel Thomson."

Ty's mouth literally dropped open. "Daniel _Thomson_? Are you _serious_?"

"I know – hard to believe. But he's got this great young eventing horse …"

Lou interrupted the two of them by placing a stack of plates down on the worn wooden kitchen table. "Talk over breakfast, guys." They both began eating and Amy explained all about Gordon and his fear of water.

"So will you be able to come down with me to Mystery Creek in a few minutes?" Amy asked.

"I'm sorry, Ames, but I really wanted to work with Whisper this morning – so we've got plenty of time to ride this afternoon."

"But – I don't want you to miss out on working with such a great horse. Both of us should work with him."

Ty smiled at Amy softly. "It's okay – really. I'll come with you next time, definitely. I can still take you down there though."

After saying goodbye to Lou, Ty grabbed his jacket and they both headed out the door. As soon as Lou was out of sight, Ty curved his arm around Amy's waist and she leaned into him, so happy to be close to him again.

"I feel like we haven't had enough time to just be with each other lately," she said softly.

"You're right. This afternoon – let's make that ride really long, okay?"

Ty leaned down and kissed her softly as they neared the car, before making his way around to the driver's door. Amy touched her lips softly as she stared after him. _I'm so, so lucky to have Ty._

He held her hand the whole way to Mystery Creek.

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Mystery Creek, Saturday morning_

Amy felt her mouth drop open in amazement as they turned into the long, tree lined driveway of Mystery Creek Stable. The place was huge! Paddocks with beautiful, white wooden fencing were full of gorgeous, shiny horses and she could see at least three stable blocks – plus a huge, modern house and swimming pool – from where they were. As they pulled out of the driveway and into the main stable yard, she grew more amazed – if that was possible – as her eyes rested on a full Olympic-size dressage arena, a jumping arena, round pen, horse swimming pool – and what looked like a country course, way in the distance of the surrounding countryside. Ty whistled softly.

"Wow."

Amy agreed. "Wow alright."

"I'm starting to wish I could stay with you!" She turned to look at Ty quickly, but from the grin on his face she could tell he was still light-hearted. He squeezed her hand softly before leaning over the seat to take her face softly in his hands. "Be careful, okay? You don't know this guy … he might try to steal you away from Heartland once he sees what a good rider you are!" She laughed softly, both of them knowing damn well that Amy would never leave Heartland for anything.

Seeing Ty's lips inching closer to hers, Amy lost all coherent thought and instead found herself mesmerised by his emerald eyes. His lips found hers gently, softly. Ty was always so careful with Amy. _As if I'm something precious to him._

They broke apart a minute later. "I'd … better get going."

Ty looked at his watch. "I'll come back in a couple of hours?"

"That should be enough time. Thanks, Ty." Amy climbed out of the car and was shutting the door when Ty said something quietly, so softly that she wouldn't have heard it if she'd turned away.

"Love you."

Smoky grey eyes met green ones as she looked up at him in shock. _Ty's _**never **_said that before! _

"Ty … I … I" Amy was, literally, lost for words. She was trying to gather her thoughts when a voice with a strong British accent boomed out behind her. "Miss Fleming! You're here!"

Amy turned and heard Ty accelerate, then leave as she stuttered. "Mr … Mr Thomson. Great to meet you."

The attractive young man walking towards her couldn't have been more than nineteen. He swept his black hair out of his eyes impatiently, removing dark sunglasses to reveal a pair of startlingly blue eyes as he held his arm out to shake her hand. "Please, Miss Fleming. Daniel. I always feel like someone's addressing my father when they call me Mr Thomson."

"I'm Amy, then. I've never been a Miss Fleming!"

Daniel smiled, showing perfectly straight white teeth as he shook her hand with a firm grasp. Amy turned, taking in again the huge setup of Mystery Creek Stable.

"I'm just … amazed. This is a huge place you've got here … um, Daniel."

"This is just my US base! As you can tell, I'm originally from England." Daniel began to show the younger girl around as he told her about himself – and Mystery Creek.

"I was born in England, and lived there for the first ten years of my life – then Mum and Dad decided they needed a change, and we came over here. They live back home now – at our other estate in Derbyshire."

"It must be hard, living away from your family."

Daniel shrugged. "It's what I have to do to further my career – I have both English and American citizenship, so I could get selected for the Olympics for either country. But I think I have a better chance of representing the US – there's just too many experienced Brit eventers at the moment. So that's why I'm based here at the moment. I'm on the finalist squad for 2008."

Amy was astounded. Daniel was only a few years older than her – but had a completely different life to her – in all respects. Obviously wealthy and with a fantastic setup at his house – he had everything he needed to make it to the top of whatever discipline he chose. Amy felt a twinge of jealousy at the way Daniel could talk so nonchalantly about his achievements and wealth – as if they weren't that unusual or important.

They were leaning on the fence, watching a lovely dun horse being schooled in the dressage arena by a young blonde woman. Amy recognised the distinctively coloured horse immediately. "That's – Crispy Noodles? Your advanced champion?" The horse almost answered for himself as the woman turned him across the diagonal and asked him to extend his trot – which he did seemingly effortlessly.

Daniel smiled with obvious affection for the gelding as he answered Amy. "Yep, that's Crisp. First Advanced horse that I've brought on completely by myself. We've definitely learnt a lot together – he's only ten, you know. I'm the only one that usually rides him, but I let Mel ride today since I'm showing you around."

"Very British sounding name!" Amy did a poor imitation of Daniel saying his horse's name, and they both laughed. Amy turned back to watch Crisp as the woman really put him through his paces. Flying changes, extended canter – Crisp did it beautifully, behaving as if he was a dressage schoolmaster – instead of an advanced eventing champion!

After warming Crisp down for ten minutes, the blonde woman – Mel – brought him over to Amy and Daniel. "He was great, Dan. Thanks for letting me ride!" Mel's face was glowing; Amy could clearly see what a pleasure the horse was to ride.

"I might let you more often now!"

Amy held her hands out to the horse, oblivious to the conversation. Crisp blew his breath out in a huff, and then sniffed her hand, before snorting loudly and blowing foamy ice cream from his mouth all over her. Amy laughed softly, stroking his golden forehead. "You're a gorgeous boy, aren't you? I've got a little guy who looks just like you at home …" She began unconsciously rubbing her fingers in little circles around Crisp's face – T-touch. The horse's head sunk lower and lower, and he blew out his breath with a sigh, completely relaxed with Amy already.

The sound of a door banging a few minutes later startled both horse and girl and they jumped. Amy soothed Crisp with her voice softly. Then – maybe it was her imagination, but she could feel eyes burning into the back of her neck. Turning around slowly, still holding Crisp, she met the cool, appraising blue eyes of Daniel Thomson.

"I think … Crisp … he seems to like me." She stuttered. _Why does Daniel have that effect on me? _She thought angrily.

"I think he does indeed. Amy Fleming – I think you have a way with horses. I think – no, I'm sure – that we are going to be friends."

Daniel asked Mel to put Crisp away, and Amy reluctantly parted with the dun horse. Her interest returned, however, when Dan decided that their next stop was going to be the most important one – Gordon, the whole reason Amy was at Mystery Creek. Taking her hand gently, he led her into the smallest of the three stables, calling out greetings to various stable hands along the way.

The stables inside were huge, American-barn style stalls which meant that horses could easily put their head over the wall into the next to say hello to their neighbour.

Daniel stopped in front of a stable where a sleek, shiny bay gelding was happily scratching a delicate grey mare in the next stable. He only expressed a flicker of interest at the two humans, flicking his black-tipped ears in their direction and glancing at them cheekily before returning to the important business of grooming.

Dan laughed softly, remarking to Amy, "He's a mummy's boy, our Gordon. This is Poppy, my old darling. She's Gordon – and Crisp's – mummy. My family actually bred Gordon – but we made the mistake of selling him as a yearling."

It was a touching scene, a young gelding scratching his elderly mother and Amy watched silently for a few minutes, enjoying the way the horses knew exactly where to scratch each other.

"She's getting on a bit now, Poppy – coming up for twenty. But she's the most wonderful mare I've ever had – she's a schoolmistress, took me to Pony Club Champs when I was thirteen. We evented at Open for quite a while before I retired her – but she still gets ridden weekly, and boy, when we take her out for trail rides – she sees those cross country jumps, and she wants to go!"

Poppy seemed to have had enough of a scratch, and she nipped Gordon gently, telling him to go away as she moved over to a full haynet. The gelding almost seemed to pout for a moment before moving over to where the two humans were and practically begging them to continue where his mother had left off.

"He's very friendly."

A look which could have been pain flashed across Daniel's face. "As I said before, I made the mistake of selling him as a yearling. I don't know what exactly happened to him – I was sure the people who got him were good people – but we found him again last year, and it was … horrible."

It was a new experience for Amy, seeing all the horror Daniel had obviously gone through – seeing a horse he had bred badly mistreated. She'd assumed immediately he was like all other top riders – treated his horses like money-making machines.

"I'm just so lucky that he's learnt to trust humans again. I don't want to think about what he'd gone through, the way he acted when he got here. He wouldn't let us near him for the first month – I couldn't ride him for six months after he got here. This horse has been here a year, Amy, and he's only been properly ridden in the last two months. I am so, so lucky that he _is_ this friendly – this is a horse that has so much potential, but could have been ruined because of something stupid that I did five years ago."

Amy touched Daniel's arm – treating him as a fellow rider, not as an eventing champion. As someone who had seen horses go through pain, much as she had. "What are you, Daniel? Nineteen? You would have been _fourteen _when Gordon was sold … you can't blame yourself in any way."

Daniel looked at her, straight in the eye. "You understand, then? You understand that this horse is worth so much to me – something that can never be put into dollars? I'm trusting you with so much, Amy Fleming."

She stared back at him steadily. "I know you think I'm only sixteen, Daniel. But I can do it – me and Ty, we can. You _can_ trust me."

He stared at her expressionlessly for a moment. Then his face broke into a friendly smile. "I wish we'd known you a year ago, Amy, when Gordon first came here. But all I can say now is – welcome to the team."

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Well, I barely got anything actually DONE in that chapter – absolutely nothing about Jazz, I'm sorry – there WAS supposed to be something in there, but I need to get these characters introduced! Sorry for any spelling errors … it's nearly ten at night and I need to go to bed … hope you all love it!_

_And PLEASE, PLEASE review! Thanks heaps._


	7. Trail Ride

**Heart of Flame – Chapter 6**

_Here's chapter six, hope you guys like it. Note that it contains fluff - and I do not claim to be a good fluffy writer! By the way, I have been searching for pics on the net who look like the characters - including Jazz, Flame, Daniel and his horses, Rebecca and Katie - so please note me or just say in the review if you want to see them - please give me your email address, don't worry, this won't be used for anything else. I may set up a myspace page if this is popular ... but I have no knowledge whatsoever of html or myspace so someone may have to help me!

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_

Heartland, Saturday Morning (after Amy returns from Mystery Creek)

Amy was breathing hard as she stood in front of the delicate chestnut horse. Flame stared back at her with liquid chocolate eyes. "Good boy," she murmured softly. "What a good boy you are, Flamey."

After returning from Mystery Creek at 10:30, Amy had gone straight out to the barn to work with Flame before she and Ty went out for their ride. Ty was working with Sky out the back of the barn, with the float. Jazz was inside doing homework, Lou helping her.

Amy felt bad for not including the younger girl, but she wasn't sure that Flame would benefit from Jazz's presence at this stage. _Especially after what happened last night! What was she _**thinking**The incident where Flame had nearly trampled Jazz had really scared Amy. It had really hit home the realisation of how helpless the younger girl was – paralysed from the waist down, she had been in no position to help herself at all. Jazz would be left behind again when Amy and Ty went riding that afternoon – but she didn't seem too disappointed about it. She was a complete change to the cold, angry girl who had arrived at Heartland two weeks ago. Although she still had her defensive moments – like the previous night – she was generally quiet and friendly when she did talk. Amy suspected that she was really beginning to like life at Heartland.

_I need to get closer to Jazz – to find some way of talking to her about what happened. And … I'd like to get to know her too. As a friend. _Amy resolved to try and spend some time that evening with Jazz.

But now – now she had to focus on Flame. Amy was growing to love the kind gelding more and more every day – for his gentle, forgiving personality, and his absolute need to be loved. And every day, she was feeling more and more pain for Jazz – for the loss of a bond Amy was sure the younger girl had thought unbreakable.

Flame had joined up with Amy as quickly as he had the day before, then happily followed her around the round pen, hopping over a few jumps with no hesitation at all. Amy was sure it was time to ride him.

Flame stood motionless in the middle of the pen as she finished the T-touch and got his saddle and bridle off the rail. As she walked back to Flame, he kept still but his red ears pricked forward and he seemed to grow excited at the thought of being ridden. Amy wondered how long it had been since he'd felt a human on his back.

Stroking his neck as she moved down towards his back, Amy slowly slid the saddle into place. Flame tensed slightly, but she could tell that it was from excitement, not fear.

After giving the horse a few minutes to get used to the feel of the saddle again, she cinched the girth before moving to Flame's head. Undoing his leather halter, he stood stock still as she put the reins over his head and opened his mouth obligingly for the bit, a simple, loose ring snaffle.

Amy was excited to finally get the chance to ride Flame – but after many years of riding she wasn't stupid enough to hop on without a helmet, no matter how excited she was. She quickly led Flame to the side of the pen and grabbed a helmet before turning to mount the gelding.

Flame swung his head around and bumped Amy gently on the hip, a quizzical expression in his eyes. She stroked his white star before gently pushing him back around, taking up the reins and placing her left foot in the stirrup.

As she placed her weight on his back, Flame snorted softly, seemingly worried, and swung his rump away from her as she pushed lightly off the ground. Luckily, Amy still managed to land lightly in Jazz's well used, dark brown leather GP saddle. "Flame, stand up!" she scolded him lightly, knowing that he had better manners than that. Gathering the reins up, Amy clucked softly to Flame to tell him to walk on.

Suddenly, all at once, she knew that something was wrong. Flame was stiff and tense – and this time, it wasn't because of excitement. He snatched at the reins and shook his head wildly from side to side, clearly agitated. Something was telling Amy to get off – but she wanted to work through this with Flame. After all, that's what healing horses was all about – working through the tough times.

The horse, however, had other ideas. All four hooves were splayed out widely into the mixture of sand and rubber that formed the floor of the pen, and no amount of encouragement or soothing from Amy would make him move.

Then, suddenly, Flame let out an explosive series of bucks, each one bigger than the last. Amy held on for dear life, all the while wondering – _when did excitement change to fear? What did I do to scare him?_

Her fingers slipped from her grasp on the saddle and she tried desperately to turn Flame in a tight circle, to disengage his hindquarters. But he was beyond listening to Amy – or any other human.

Amy heard a shout from the other side of the pen and mentally cursed. _Dammit, Ty! I don't want you to see this!_

From the blur of motion, she could just make out Ty opening the gate and racing into the pen – but what could an eighteen year old guy do against a 16.2hh thoroughbred gone crazy?

He did startle Flame, though, and the gelding stopped bucking for a moment, blowing hard, eyes rolling. Amy just had time to call, "Ty! Don't-" before Flame gathered the last of his strength and let out his biggest buck yet. Amy just couldn't hold on, and she was propelled through the air, slamming into the hard, wooden fence of the pen. All the air was knocked from Amy's body and all she could do was fight for breath and watch the horse as she slid to the ground.

Flame had stopped moving – he was standing in the middle of the arena, shivering and shaking with fear – but relieved, she could tell, to have her off his back. She wanted to go and comfort the scared animal but – strangely, she couldn't move.

Then she felt cool hands touching her face, and Ty's soothing voice – but she could hear the worry behind his calm words. "Amy … Amy, I'm here, its okay."

She felt herself being moved and then knew that Ty was holding her head in his lap as he unbuckled her helmet and removed it.

"Ty –" Amy tried to speak but her breath hitched in her throat and she found that she couldn't make any noise at all. She felt Ty's hand coming up to stroke her long hair gently, his other hand squeezing hers as he spoke.

"Shhh, Ames, you hit the ground so hard, you're winded. You just need to relax and try to breathe, get some air back into your lungs." After a moment or two she could sit up, and Ty put his arms around her, rubbing her back gently.

"I'm … okay." She leaned into his strong embrace, tucking her head in the space between his shoulder and chin, where she had always fitted perfectly. "What did I do, Ty? He just … went crazy. He was so happy when I got the saddle and bridle out – but when I got up onto him, he went insane."

Amy raised her head to look him in the face, tears that she refused to shed standing in her smoky blue-grey eyes. Ty knew that they weren't tears for herself, for falling off – they were tears for Flame, for the horse she so desperately wanted to heal. Tears because she couldn't understand _why _he was like this, why Jazz was like this. Tears because she **_had _**to know – and tears because she knew how much it was going to hurt the girl who had to tell her.

For once in his life, Ty Baldwin didn't have anything to say to comfort Amy. They both knew now that there was going to be no easy way to heal Flame – and Jazz. That they would have to take the hard road every time.

"Amy," Ty said, knowing that she knew instinctively every thought that had just passed through his mind. "That's why we do this. So we can figure out why – and get these guys off the hard road, and back on the way to the horses they were before. That's why I love you – you don't give up."

Amy looked up at him as he tucked a stray strand of her dark hair behind her ears. "I'll talk to Jazz tonight." Her gaze was resolute.

After helping Ty put Flame away – the horse had been cuddly and almost apologetic – Amy followed her boyfriend in for lunch. She'd made Ty promise not to tell Lou about her fall – if her older sister knew then she certainly wouldn't be letting Amy go out for a ride that afternoon.

To Amy's surprise, however, Lou was nowhere to be seen – and it was Jazz setting out lunch on the table. "You want some help?" Ty smiled at the younger girl, knowing full well that she needed all the help she could get. Jazz was lucky that the Flemings' kitchen was as big as it was, with plenty of room to wheel herself around in there.

"That would be great, guys. Lou's upstairs working – I told her I'd make lunch because she helped me with my homework."

Amy got out three plates; feeling almost dazed at Jazz's … happiness and contentment were the only words for it. _What happened to the enraged, defensive girl of last night? _She wondered. _Maybe she has mood swings …_

She and Ty sat down at the table and Jazz wheeled her chair into the space opposite Amy. The younger girl immediately asked, "How was Flame, Amy? Did you ride him?"

Glancing quickly at Ty, Amy replied, "He was great, Jazz. I've seriously never joined up with a horse so quickly – and it was only the second time, too!"

"Sounds like join-up's working well with him. It always has."

"Has?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry," Jazz mumbled quickly, and took a bite of her sandwich, expecting Amy to continue.

When the older girl didn't say anything, Jazz's dark, clear eyes flew to her face, scrutinising Amy's carefully blank expression. "You're not telling me something," she said bluntly.

Amy sighed. "Well … I showed him the saddle and bridle, and he got really excited. But – when I got on him, he got really upset and – he bucked me off." She cringed, expecting Jazz's disgust and derision. But the fifteen year old simply nodded, remarking, "That's what he did to everyone back in Montana, even one of my old instructors."

"I'm working on it, Jazz. I _can_ make Flame better – both of us can." Amy glanced at Ty and he nodded.

"I trust you. That's why … why I wanted Flamey to come here in the first place. And besides, if someone like Daniel Thomson hires you … I think you're good enough for me and Flame."

The tension of the previous moment was forgotten as Amy told Jazz and Ty all about Daniel's stable, about meeting Crisp, Gordon and Poppy – and about all the guilt Daniel felt for selling Gordon at a young age only to find him years later, abused and neglected.

"Funny," Jazz commented. "These top class eventers – you never think they have a heart, you know? I competed against this Thomson guy once – and beat him, I might add – and he seemed like a snobby, British jerk at the time."

"You never know," Amy said thoughtfully. "First impressions can be deceiving!" She winked at Jazz and the three of them laughed, remembering the disastrous night when she and Flame had arrived.

"So, Jazz," Ty asked. "What are you planning to do this afternoon?"

"Ben said I could come down to the barn and watch him and Red – they're going to jump today."

Amy felt relieved that the younger girl wouldn't be alone while and she and Ty were out riding – and she knew that Ben, their other stable hand, would be kind to Jazz.

Standing up, Amy took all three plates to the kitchen bench. Turning back to the table, she asked, "Ready to go, Ty?" The sparkle in his eyes was answer enough for her.

"Jazz … we'll be back … sometime."

Jazz was looking on with an amused expression on her face, no doubt because of Amy's incoherence. "Yeah, sure, Amy. I'll probably never see the two of you again!" The older girl blushed, then both of them said goodbye and went out the door, heading back to the barn. Jazz wheeled herself to the window so she could watch them go, Ty slinging his arm around Amy's shoulder and the shorter girl leaning into him.

"They're so lucky to have each other," she murmured, immediately disgusted with herself for all the wistfulness and longing that even _she_ could hear in her own voice. It was just – sometimes it was so hard to be around Amy and Ty, who were so obviously in love and content – and still feeling like half her own heart had been ripped away. _Sometimes, _Jazz thought, _it's just better to be alone._

With each new horse that came to Heartland, Amy was more and more impressed with Ty's skill and love for each of them. Whisper was a young grey mare who, when she arrived at Heartland, had been one of the worst cases Amy had ever seen. So think and neglected that even Amy was sure she couldn't recover, Whisper had broken facial bones from being beaten by her previous owner. Understandably, the mare had had a complete fear of humans – but Ty, as usual, had refused to condemn her and as she regained her strength, he had gradually introduced himself into the mare's life – and she had regained the will to live.

Today, three months on from the day Whisper had arrived at Heartland, Amy watched as Ty talked gently to the steel grey mare as he coaxed her to stand still while he mounted. Whisper was ridden in a hackamore, a bitless bride which placed pressure on the horse's poll rather than mouth – she still couldn't tolerate a bit, months after the cuts from the wire halter her owner had forced her to wear had healed. From these cuts and the broken bones, Whisper's face would always be scarred but her fine, dished Arab head was still beautiful.

Amy held Katie, the prancing dressage mare. Whisper and Katie had bonded straight away – their early experiences had been similar. Katie had been lucky enough to be rescued before her damage had become as bad as Whisper's, though she still harboured her fear of men. In the two weeks since Amy had begun working with her, Katie had improved steadily and now tolerated Ty standing in the arena when they were working. She didn't seem to mind him riding next to her, either, as they set off towards the back paddocks of Heartland.

Both Ty and Amy rode in silence for the first few minutes of the ride, happy to just be quietly with each other, away from all the stress of the last few days. The two mares walked along on a loose rein, swinging their heads from side to side and seeming as relaxed as their riders. That was what Amy loved about Ty – he didn't feel the need to talk all the time when he was with her. Sometimes she could tell what he was thinking just by the look on his face.

Glancing at Ty now, Amy asked him quietly if he wanted to trot. He nodded, and they pushed both mares forward and trotted side by side along, the mares' hooves thumping rhythmically along the clay raceway. They slowed to go through the gate which led to the gentle, sloping hills above Heartland, then cantered along the uphill track Amy had ridden so many times with Sunny. They wouldn't be jumping any of the sturdy cross country jumps today, though, with the two inexperienced mares.

Both horses were blowing slightly by the time they arrived at a creek which ran down towards Heartland, so they rode them into the water for a drink. Amy laughed as Katie pretended to be terrified of the water, pawing at it then jumping in fright. Ty shouted in surprise as some of the water landed on him and Whisper – with his back turned, he hadn't seen it coming. By the time he whirled around, both girl and horse were standing still and looked perfectly innocent. Whisper shook violently, sending water flying everywhere. Both Amy and Ty were laughing as the horses climbed out of the creek. "I'll get you back for that one, Amy Fleming!"

"Oh, Ty, I'm _so _scared!"

Ty grinned and turned Whisper around as Amy and Katie were still coming out of the creek.

"Race you to the pines!"

"What?" Amy looked up in surprise to see Ty and the grey mare already off. "But Katie's a _dressage _horse, she … oh, damn you, Ty Baldwin!"

Amy hated losing – and Ty damn well knew it! Gathering up her reins, Amy squeezed Katie's sides and the mare did a perfect walk to canter transition. Amy lay low on her neck, clucking to make her go faster. "Go, Katie! GO!"

But there was no way they could beat Ty. Pulling up at the pine trees a few minutes later, Amy's hair was loose and blowing wildly in the wind, and she was sure her face was bright red. Katie was panting hard too, while Ty and Whisper seemed to have barely broken a sweat.

Amy patted the darker mare's neck, remarking, "Maybe you do have a bit of thoroughbred in you!" Then she turned to Ty. His grin was huge in his brown, tanned face and his greened eyes sparkled with laughter. "Well? Miss Amy Fleming loses!"

She sniffed disdainfully, "You cheated."

"Did not!"

"Dude, admit it! You were scared my dressage mare was going to beat you – so you had to get a head start!"

Ty shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid, Miss Fleming, you may be right."

Amy smiled in satisfaction.

"But I still won!"

Amy would have hit him, if she could've found a way of doing it without scaring the horses.

"Okay … let's stop fighting now. C'mon, we should go to that meadow by the waterfall, give the horses a rest, something to eat."

They walked there in silence, the horses on a loose rein. Amy's mind was in turmoil. She didn't know what she was feeling … excitement? Apprehension? It had been so long since she and Ty had really been alone together. And after what he'd said that morning …

They reached the meadow, where there was a post to tie the horses where they could graze quietly. Amy leaned forward, swinging her leg over Katie's back, and jumping down. She hadn't realised that there was a stone hidden in the grass below, and as she landed on the uneven surface her ankle buckled and she nearly fell. Then – someone's arms were around her – stopping her from hitting the ground.

Amy turned in the circle of Ty's arms, to look up at his face, her eyes searching for something – what, she wasn't sure. Ty was deadly serious now, all traces of his playful grin gone.

"Ty –" she whispered, her eyes never leaving his face. "I –" but he pressed his finger to her lips gently, saying, "Wait. We've got all the time in the world. Let's just get the horses settled." Amy nodded, moving to Katie's saddlebags to take out the horses' halters. She could feel his eyes on her the whole way, and as she handed him Whisper's halter their fingers brushed and she felt a jolt of electricity run through her.

_What's wrong with me? _Amy wondered as she removed Katie's bridle. _When did that playfulness turn into … this?_

Finally, the horses were settled, and Amy and Ty both lay down on the grass, a small distance between them, Ty on his back, staring at the sky and Amy on her side, curled towards him. Ty spoke first.

"We haven't been … like this, together, for so long, Amy."

She laughed softly, closing her eyes and feeling the warm golden glow of the sun on her cheeks. "I've missed you, Ty."

There was silence for a moment – but a silence both of them knew that they didn't have to fill. Then – Amy felt something running up and down her arm, gentle as the touch of a spider. She opened her eyes and – Ty had moved. He was no longer lying on his back but on his side, too – a mirror image to her. And he was stroking her arm, softly, slowly.

Staring into Ty's deep green eyes, Amy could see her own, serene reflection – and she thought at that moment that, with the sun shining in a halo around him, she had never seen him so beautiful. His gaze was so intense, so powerful.

"Ty?" It wasn't a question. Not really. In that instant he pulled her closer, so that the whole length of him was pressed against her and she could feel everywhere their bodies touched. And then – he eased his lips over hers, and Amy felt herself respond. But this wasn't one of those gentle, quiet kisses where he made her feel so fragile and precious. This was Ty burning with a well of desire she'd never known he had.

Ty brought his hands up to cup her face, and his teeth grazed her bottom lip. Then, Amy opened her mouth to him, and she felt his tongue … god, she'd never known that Ty could kiss like this! He was usually so restrained, so quiet but – this was a different Ty altogether.

_And he wants me. Amy Fleming. Me._

Ty's hands were no longer holding her face – instead, he was stroking her sides. And then – she felt his hand come up under her loose, riding t-shirt, and his hands were on her stomach. Everywhere Ty touched, Amy felt on fire – she'd never felt herself like this before, either. Then – Ty's hands crept higher, and she tensed for a moment. She'd never let any guy touch her like that before.

Ty stopped immediately, pulling back from her. "Amy? Are you … okay? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have …" And she could have sworn his cheeks reddened slightly. _He's so worried, that he'll do something, say something to hurt me._

"No," her lips curved into a smile. "It's okay, Ty, really. It's just … I've never …"

"Oh!" He seemed slightly surprised. Then his face turned solemn and serious. "Amy, I'd never do anything, _anything,_ to hurt you."

"Ty," she said simply. "Don't you think I know that?"

They stuck to kissing after that, Ty pressing his lips gently, again and again, to hers, til they felt swollen and bruised. After a while, though, they stopped even that, and Amy just lay with her head on Ty's chest. His long, slim fingers played with her tangled hair, and Amy realised that she'd never felt so safe and loved. How could this compare to the awkward kisses she and Matt had shared – which she hadn't even wanted?

"You know," Ty said, after a while, "I used to watch you. When we were younger – when your mom was still alive. You would have been … thirteen or so, I would've been fifteen. I think I knew, even then … god, you were so beautiful, Ames! And when your mom died, and you were heartbroken and I wanted to help you and kiss you so badly!"

"Why didn't you?" Amy loved lying with her head on Ty's chest, listening to his heartbeat, trying to match her breathing to his.

"I … you were so young, Amy. Two years seemed like such a big difference then – but now, it doesn't matter." Ty's voice took on a new tone. "And when you and Matt were fighting all the time, because he wanted to be more than friends and you didn't … I was so angry at him, for making you hurt more when you were so cut up about your mom already."

Amy was stunned. Ty – he'd never talked like this before, never really let her know how deep his feelings for her ran. She could feel tears starting to gather behind her eyes, not from sadness, just – from love, that Ty, who never spoke his feelings to anyone, was trusting her with his soul. He took her hands and pulled her up so she was sitting between his legs, and looking him straight in the face again. His eyes were so full of emotion and she couldn't believe that he was doing this for her.

"I was so scared," he whispered, "that you couldn't think of me the same way."

"Oh, Ty," two tears slid down Amy's cheeks and she held his face in her hands, asking the question even though she knew without a doubt now. "Did you mean what you said this morning?"

He looked at her straight and true and said it. "I love you, Amy Fleming."

Tears still glinting on her cheeks like diamonds on water, she replied with the only answer in her heart.

"I love you too, Ty Baldwin."

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Hope the fluff was okay - remember to note me if you want pics. REVIEW! Thanks heaps! 


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